The men’s basketball team wrapped up a three-game home stand on Monday, Dec. 7, with a thriller against Texas A&M-Commerce (Commerce). The Bisons fell 89-87 on a last-second 3-point jumper that sealed the game for Commerce.
Junior guard Will Francis led the team against Commerce with a career-high 35 points. Francis shot 6-8 from the 3-point line in the first half, and felt that he broke out of a difficult stretch during Monday’s game.
“Anytime shots fall, you feel like you’re playing a lot better than you maybe are, but it was good to finally get some shots to fall for me,” Francis said. “My teammates have encouraged me, and shooting is a matter of confidence. You just have to keep shooting even when you don’t feel good and shots aren’t falling.”
While the homestand ended with a difficult loss, the Bisons won two conference games against Southern Nazarene University and Oklahoma Baptist University in their first home games of the season. After playing five games on the road in November to start the season, the Bisons were ready to play at home.
“We definitely needed to play at home,” senior forward John Hudson said. “Five games on the road is tough, especially in our conference. It’s definitely better to get home and get some wins under our belt.”
The Bisons are now 3-1 against conference opponents, which puts them in a good position as they move deeper into conference play, Morgan said. While conference wins are certainly important, the Bisons faced an even greater challenge by playing three games over the course of five days in their first homestand of the year.
“Three games in five days is not really ideal because our legs are gone and sometimes we’re tired,” Hudson said. “But Coach (Morgan) has done a good job of managing minutes, and in practices we’re getting what we need to get done so that we’re ready for the games.”
Playing three games in five days reflects the physical, mental and emotional demands of the conference tournament, according to Morgan.
“Coach Morgan schedules games close to each other so we can kind of simulate a conference tournament or an NCAA tournament,” Francis said. “If you keep winning in the tournament, you’re going to play three games in four days. So, hopefully when that time does come later in the year, we can say we’ve done this before and we’ve won.”
The Bisons closed out the semester with a rematch against Commerce on Thursday, Dec. 10, in Commerce, Texas, but results were not available at press time. The team will look to build on the experience of this early-season game-loaded schedule as the conference tournament draws near.
